The Marquise de Sévigné (Marie de Rabutin-Chantal la marquise de Sévigné 1626-1696) was one of the most important socialites of the 17th century. She became famous for the letters she wrote to her daughter, the Countess de Grignan (1646-1705).
These letters, written in a fluent and pleasant style, are still considered an important primary source for all historians studying the reign of Louis XIV, thanks to their almost daily reporting of everything that happened at the king's court (such as The death of the cook Wattle או The poison affair, which terrified Paris).
Although these letters are considered classics of French literature, they have, as far as I know, never been translated into Hebrew. Happily, Nir Raczkowski decided to pick up the glove (which was certainly a silk glove, which Bannon elegantly placed on the marble floor of one of the Marais palaces) and recently published the book “Daughter, beloved".
Daughter, beloved, must-read book
It is important to note that the book is not a collection of her best writings, but rather a historical novel that deals with the relationship between the mother and her beloved daughter, the Countess de Grignan (Françoise Marguerite de Sévigné 1646-1705), and her son Charles (1648-1713). This book can be compared to a Baroque opera consisting of Recitatives that advance the plot and Arias, whose function is to present the emotions of the heroes and thus allow the singers to show their full musical ability.
However, unlike Baroque operas where the recitatives are quite monotonous and boring, it is precisely in the plot sections written by the author that the genius of the book is revealed. It should be noted that this is the first feature book by Nir Raczkowski, who has so far worked as a translator (I still remember his excellent translation of “Suite French"Iran Nemirovsky's") and yet he demonstrates very impressive writing ability here.
The descriptions and stories that the author skillfully weaves together make it easy for the reader to travel back in time to the reign of Louis XIV And get to know all those characters who made this period the Grand Siècle. At the same time, he manages to analyze in his literary style the psychological profile of each of the story's heroes. In this way, he manages to turn his book into a novel about our time, which could be relevant in any period and anywhere where there is a mother who loves her daughter with a fierce love, and seemingly neglects her son.
Without a doubt, this is one of the best books I have read in recent years and I highly recommend that you go buy it. This book not only gave me pleasure but also inspired a special itinerary that will follow in the footsteps of the book's heroine, Madame de Savigny.
To order the book click here.
A walking tour of the northern Marais district following the Marquise
This hiking trail is a kind of complementary trail to the hiking trail inMarais District that I published previously. While the previous route deals mainly with the central Marais and the southern Marais, this route will deal mostly with the northern Marais, which is less well-known, and in which we will be able to encounter places where Madame de Savignier's friends lived and where she lived and worked.
Route map
Saint Elisabeth Church
To start the tour, get to the Temple metro station. After exiting the metro, go to Rue du Temple and enter the Saint Elisabeth church, which is located at number 195. This is the only 17th-century church in the northern Marais that has survived the French RevolutionThe church is all that remains of a monastery that was in the area and belongs to a knightly order. Malta.
Madame de Savignier must have known this church not only because her noble friends sent their daughters there, but also because it was under the patronage of Cardinal de Retz (Jean-François Paul de Gondi 1613-1679), who was one of her close friends and a relative of her husband.
While you're there, don't miss the beautiful 17th-century Flemish panels, brought here from Arras in 1945. The panels contain hand-crafted wooden figurines depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments and are one of Paris' lesser-known treasures.
Mademoiselle de Scuderie's house
Leave the Saint Elisabeth church and head south on Rue du Temple until you reach the intersection with Rue de Bretagne. Turn left and walk straight on while enjoying the beauty of the garden and the town hall of the 3rd arrondissement (both from the Napoleon III era). Turn right on rue de Beauce and a few steps later turn left onto Rue des Oiseaux where you will discover a corner building with a charming little garden.
Mademoiselle de Scudéry (Madeleine de Scudéry 1607-1701), friend of Madame de Savigny and owner of one of the most famous literary salons of her time, lived here. Although it was a modest building, every Saturday a group of high-ranking nobles and intellectuals would ascend the steps of the house to attend the famous evenings held at her home.
Although Madame de Scuderie's house was very modest, compared to the houses of the nobles in the area, her small garden was famous for the acacia plants and the birds she raised there (among them a desert parrot), which gave its name to the street on which the house was located (Bird Street). The birds there became so famous that the famous philosopher Leibniz (Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1646-1706) wrote a poem about the parrot that lived there.
Madame de Scuderie always believed in platonic love and devoted her entire life to promoting this type of love. In her book Clélie, she created the map of love, which contains villages, roads, mountains and lakes, each of which represents the range of emotions that a person goes through on the path to love.
Ninon de Lanclos (Ninon de Lanclos 1620-1705) mocked the salon goers and called them the hysteria of love because they talk about it a lot but never do it... Molière He saw the comic potential that existed in this living room and based his famous comedy “The Ridiculous Delights” on it. I really wanted to bring you a translated version of this comedy, but unfortunately I couldn’t find it. However, if you understand French, I recommend you watch this version:
Red Children's Market (Marché des Enfants-Rouges)
From the Alley of Birds you can enter the Red Children's Market through its side entrance. This is the oldest market in Paris, still in operation today, and it is named after an orphanage that stood at Rue des Archives 90, where the children who lived there wore red coats (there was also an orphanage that wore blue coats, which is why it was called Les Enfants Rouges). Although the place is not related to Madame de Savigny, if you have already come this far, it is highly recommended to stroll among its stalls and eat at the restaurants located there.
Pascal's House and Picasso Museum
After you've finished visiting the Red Children's Market, head to Rue Charlot, named after the 17th-century developer who built much of the streets in the area. Take a leisurely stroll among the galleries and palaces from the 17th and 18th centuries (such as the one at number 33 or the house of the Marquise de Polignac at number 28). Continue straight until you reach Rue du Perche at number 7Bis where the widow Scaron, the future Marquise de Maintenon, lived.
Turn left onto Rue Saintonge which also contains quite a few houses from the 17th and 18th centuries. At number 13 lived the famous philosopher Blaise Pascal (Blaise Pascal 1623-1662), whom Madame de Savignier knew and here he worked on the vacuum problem, when in 1651 his father died and the family had to leave due to debts.) Turn right onto Rue Poitou and then right again onto Rue Vieille du Temple.
Continue straight until you reach the gardens of Hotel Salé It now houses the Picasso Museum. Madame de Savignier, of course, knew the nouveau riche who built this magnificent palace and, like any good noblewoman, looked down on him (this, of course, did not prevent her from marrying off her grandson to the daughter of a rich merchant and uttering the immortal phrase: “Sometimes you have to mow the ground”).
And by the way, if you happen to get hungry, you are welcome to stop by Breizh, located at number 109 and eat one of the best crepes you've ever had.
The house of the poet Scaron
After you have finished looking at the gardens of the Hôtel Salle, go to Rue de la Perle and then to Rue de Thorigny so that you can admire the beautiful courtyard of the palace. Return to Rue de la Perle and continue on Rue de Parc Royal. Pay attention to the beautiful mansions on the left (I especially like the red one at number 6) and to the small garden on your right that contains the remains of 16th century statues (if you look closely you will recognize the salamander sculpted in stone, the symbol of the king). Francois I).
Turn left onto Rue de Turenne, named after Louis XIV's most talented general, whose death in battle is recounted by Madame de Savigny in her letters to her home. His mansion once stood at number 14 but unfortunately very little of the original structure remains.
Continue to number 56 and you will discover the house of the poet Paul Scarron (1610-1660), who can be identified by the statue of the Virgin on the corner of house number 58. The poet, whose body was deformed as a result of an illness and looked like the letter Z, ran a famous literary salon here. Despite suffering excruciating pain, he managed to maintain a sense of humor, write poetry and invent the genre of burlesque.
When he was 41, he married the 15-year-old Françoise d'Aubigny, who served more as a sister of mercy than as his wife. There, Françoise met Madame de Savigny and became one of her best friends. After being widowed by her husband in 1660, Françoise became the governess of Louis XIV's children by Madame de Montespan and years later became his mistress and finally his wife. Today we know her as Madame de Maintenon (14-1635).
Madame de Savignier's house
Retrace your steps to rue de Sevigne, named after the Marquise. At number 29 you will see the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, home to the Le Peletier family for centuries. The last of the dynasty, Louis Michel (1760-1793), was a revolutionary and voted for the execution of Louis XVI. However, on the day of Louis XVI's execution, he was assassinated by one of the king's bodyguards while drinking coffee in thePalais Royal.
This building housed the library of Paris Until it was moved in 1968 to the Hôtel Lamoignon, which is located not far away on rue Pavée. Today it serves as part of the Museum of the History of Paris and you can find the sections dealing with, among other things, the French Revolution. Speaking of the Museum of the History of Paris, go a little further and you will reach number 23 where it is located. Hotel Carnaval Madame de Savignier lived there for about 20 years.
I will not elaborate on this house because it has already been I have written extensively about him before. However, if you are lucky and happen to be in Paris after the renovations are complete, you can visit one of the palace rooms dedicated to her memory.
Place des Vosges, the house where Madame de Savigny was born
After visiting the Carnival Museum, turn left on Franc Bourgeois Street and walk until you reach Vosges SquareIt was at number 1bis that Madame de Savignier was born in 1626 and that is where quite a few of her friends lived at one point or another in their lives.
And by the way, another event took place in the Place des Vosges related to Madame de Savignier, or rather her grandfather Baron de Chantal. The Baron, like quite a few noblemen of his time, fought a duel in the Place des Vosges and was forced to flee Paris because Cardinal de Richelieu imposed the death penalty on anyone who fought a duel. Since the Baron managed to escape, he was sentenced to death in absentia and an effigy with his name was hung in the Place de Garve (where theHotel de Ville).
The same baron sent servants to remove the body from the rope, but he himself was forced to hide until 1642, when Cardinal Richelieu died.
Ninon de Lanclos's house
After you've finished visiting the square (and maybe eating a chocolate mousse at the Chez Janou restaurant a few steps away), walk east until you reach Rue de Tournelles. If you turn south, you'll find the entrance to the Great Synagogue of the Marais on your right. However, I would ask you to continue a little further south until you reach number 36, where you'll discover a door with a masquerade (a head-shaped sculpture found above windows or gates) in the shape of a woman's head.
This statue is of the famous courtesan Ninon de Lanclos, whom I mentioned earlier. This is where she lived and where she entertained quite a few of the rich and famous of Paris, most of whom (including Madame de Savigny's husband and son) became her lovers.
Church of Notre Dame des Anges
Continue on Rue de Tournelles until you reach Rue Saint Antoine. On the other side of the street you will see the Sainte Marie church, which was founded by, no less than, Madame de Savignier's grandmother.
This church belonged to the Order of the Visitation, an order founded by the Bishop of Geneva, Saint Francois de la Sales, which was dedicated to the education of poor girls and the care of the sick. In 1619, Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot de Chantal (1572-1641), the grandmother of Madame de Savignier, arrived in Paris and decided to establish a branch of the order there.
The monastery was initially founded in13th District Today, however, about two years later it “moved” to the Marais and spread between the Bastille area and the Petit Musc street. The church that you see is all that remains of that monastery and has considerable architectural importance: it was the first church in Paris to be built with a dome (a few years before the Val de Grace church, about fifty years before Church of the Invalides And more than a hundred years ago the pantheon).
This church became very popular thanks to the work of Jean Premio, so it is not surprising that Nicolas Foucault, the legendary Minister of Finance and builder of the Vau la Viscount Palace, asked to be buried there.
Madame de Savignier's grandmother, by the way, was canonized in the 18th century, making her the only married woman in history to receive this honor. This church currently serves the Protestants of Paris and is therefore closed most of the time. However, if you happen to be there during prayer time, you can enter.
Saint Louis Saint Paul
After visiting the Notre Dame des Anges church, you are welcome to continue west on Saint Antoine Street until you reach the Saint Louis Saint Paul church.
In this church, Madame de Savignier used to meet all the who's who of Paris and hear the latest gossip. You can read more about this church atAn article specifically dealing with the public toilets of Paris (Yes, there is a connection :)).
Saint Gervais Church – Saint Portais
Continue on Rue Saint Antoine and from there on Rue François-Miron. This street is full of very interesting places that you can read about inMy itinerary in the Marais, however, they are not directly related to Madame de Savigny.
However, if you continue to the end of the street, you will come to the church of Saint Gervais-Saint Portais, where Madame de Savignier was married and where the poet Scaron, husband of her good friend who would become Madame de Maintenon, is also buried. And since you are probably tired, it is time to end the walk with Scaron's witty epitaph, which was translated by Dori Manor The one and only:
The man laid at your feet.
Jealous less than pity
And a thousand times he died
Before even here really;
So don't make any noise, passerby,
And spare his nap now;
Because this is the first night.
That Scaron can sleep.
(From the book “Minority”, Kibbutz Hameuhad Publishing House).
Want to hear me tell you the secrets of the Marais district?
I have created a series of three lectures in which I talk about the history of the Mara and its most beautiful places. You can get information about each of these lectures and buy the recording of each of these lectures on the page The secrets of the Mara.
Want to visit Madame de Savigny's castle in Brittany?
You are invited to read the interesting and entertaining article by Danny Ashkenazi. The castle of Madame de Savigny, the first blogger in history.
Did you like the trip and are you looking for more information about the Mara?
I recommend you read the article about the neighborhood. La Marais And find additional travel itineraries and recommendations for restaurants, hotels and apartments there.